Automatic doors provide convenience and accessibility, but they also pose dangers when not correctly installed, operated, or maintained. Compliance with BS EN 16005 helps to protect your employees, visitors, and customers from accidents and injuries.
The standard sets out essential requirements for designers, suppliers, installers, and specifiers. These include undertaking a risk assessment, eliminating significant risks, and providing safeguards where risks cannot be stopped.
Operational Checks
Automatic doors can be found in various public buildings, from shopping centers to hospitals and offices. They offer a high level of convenience for users, but they can also pose a severe risk if they are not correctly installed, maintained, and operated.
All powered pedestrian doors should be tested daily to comply with safety standards. This includes testing the operation of the intrinsic entrapment protection control. This is designed to prevent doors from moving towards an open position if they sense an obstruction.
In addition, it is a good idea to check that the doorway is free of items such as hats, coats, and bags. These can be a significant source of obstruction and can cause life-threatening injuries. This is why occupier checks are an essential element of all automated door safety compliance requirements.
Occupier Checks
The occupier of a building – whether it’s a hotel, office, warehouse, or other commercial space – must ensure visitors/customers and employees can safely enter and exit. This usually involves automatic doors like sliding or swing (hinged) doors, and the occupier must carry out daily safety checks on these to ensure they are functioning as expected.
As the high-profile incidents involving powered doors have shown, risks are involved in their design, installation, and operation. These must be controlled to reduce them to as low as reasonably practicable.
One way to achieve this is by checking the door weekly and recording the results, keeping them for at least a year. However, this does not replace the requirement for formal servicing conducted by a maintenance engineer qualified to work on power-operated pedestrian doors based on BS EN 16005 (doors fitted after April 2013) or BS 7036 (doors held before then).
Visual Checks
Automatic doors offer convenience, accessibility, and efficiency in workplaces such as shopping centers and hospitals. However, they can also be a safety risk when not properly maintained. Adhering to the standards and daily safety inspections on powered pedestrian doors can help reduce the accidents, injuries, and wrongful death claims associated with these systems.
Sensors are the critical component of most automatic door systems. Whether infrared, microwave, or other technology, these sensors have specific activation ranges and requirements to operate correctly.
Some sensors require manual detachment for resetting or servicing. The BHMA standard specifies that any such detachment means must be marked with operating instructions adjacent to it. It must also be capable of disconnection at a distance of 5 ft (1.52 m) from the operator. This helps ensure it is not accidentally activated during an occupant test or by any other door operation. This includes egress areas where the door folds together or the leaves close.
Physical Checks
Automatic doors provide safe and easy access for non-disabled and disabled users alike, but they are complex machinery that can be dangerous if not used correctly. As such, they need to be regularly inspected by the occupier to ensure they function correctly.
Typical inspections include a visual check for signs of wear and tear. They also require a mechanical doorway inspection, including sensors and motor controls.
In addition, a safety mat must be placed in the area of operation, and any obstructed areas must be identified and cleared. For example, folding doors that “break out” (or breakaway) must have signage reading “IN EMERGENCY PUSH TO OPEN” mounted on the non-traffic side of the leaf(s). For all types of power-operated doorways, it’s recommended to follow industry standards such as BS EN 16005.
